Phytochemical, antifungal and acute toxicity studies of Mitracarpus scaber Zucc. whole plant extracts

Abstract

Mitracarpus scaber have been reported in the treatment of various ailments such as ulcer, cancer, skin diseases etc. It is therefore important to investigate these plant parts to ascertain their therapeutic potentials. The Mitracarpus scaber whole plant was extracted with water and methanol, screened for their phytochemical properties and antifungal effects. The plant samples were also investigated for alkaloid, flavonoids, saponins, tannins and phenolic contents using quantitative techniques. The antifungal activities of the plant samples were tested against Candida albicans, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Microsporum auduounii and Aspergillus flavus. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Fungicidal Concentration (MFC) of the extracts were also determined. Flavonoid, steroid, triterpenes, tannins, carbohydrate, glycoside, phenols were detected in both extracts while anthraquinones was absent. Alkaloid was detected in the aqueous extract but absent in methanol extract. Quantitatively, the phenols (97.0 mg/g) was the highest phytochemical detected in the plant while the lowest was alkaloid (9.2 mg/g). Toxicity of the samples was expressed as LD₅₀, it was found above 5000 mg/kg and did not cause mortality in all the tested rats. Aqueous extract only showed inhibition on Candida albicans and Trichophyton mentagrophytes with no inhibition on Microsporum auduounii and Aspergillus flavus while ethanol extract only showed inhibition on Candida albicans with no inhibition on Microsporum auduounii, Trichophyton mentagrophytes and Aspergillus flavus at the lowest concentration 12.5 mg/ml. The aqueous extract has MIC and MFC of 12.5 mg/ml and 25 mg/ml respectively against Candida
albicans and Trichophyton mentagrophytes. Thus, the traditional claims of the uses of the plants as antifungal agents were therefore supported.